Ah Man!

What I have used with great success was a 2'x4' section of shelving. The kind with the round posts on the corners. A 150lb pig can be secured to the shelving with wire around the legs. Kind of like it is sitting on it's haunches. This makes it easy for several people to move it in and out of the smoker. When done you can remove the shelving and I usualy will then slide the whiole thing on to a large sheet of cutting board material. Dont forget to keep the mouth open during smoking with a 2x4 or something for the apple or pineapple in the mouth for looks when done. A good pig deserves a good looking hat when done as well. Also foil the tail and ears assuming you want something for public viewing. At 150lbs plan on a good 24 hr smoke.

Love the idea of the shelves. My smoker is set up kind of like a T. My firebox connects to the smoke chamber in the middle. So I need to be careful that I do not drip too much fat or there is a chance that I will start a grease fire. This has not been a problem when I do shoulders. I suspect that is because there is just not the same amount of fat that comes off of a shoulder.

How Long do i let it cool to cut it and what is the best way to let it cool

Katie,

No need to let the pig cool. Pull it off the smoker and take it right over to a carving table.

Here's more details than you asked for <grin>:

We use saw horses with 2x12 planks covered with a plastic shower curtain (for a couple of bucks at the discount store). We cover the area with a case of kale (greens) both for decoration plus to add a layer of insulation under the pig. The pig is too hot to carve with bare hands. I have a pair of thick rubberized insulated gloves that I got at a kitchen supply store that let me handle it without discomfort. I also have a large cutting board, a chef knife, and several disposable pans (and a couple of 3 mil trash bags in trash cans for bones, fat, and such). As guests walk through the line, I'm rapidly cutting off chunks of meat and slicing them to keep the pans full.

So I was asked today if I would be able to smoke a whole hog for a party next year. Haven't done a whole hog yet, but have been looking for a chance to. So here's my reason to.

This summer I will do one or 2 test smokes of a whole hog. In prep, I reviewed this thread and noted that a couple of you stated 12-14 hours of pit time. Prior to this, and with the butts I usually do, you look at 1 1/2 hours per pound. A small 50 pound whole pig would take way more than 12-14 hours based on that. I'm I missing something? Is it smoking at a higher temp? How are you prepping the pig? Is there more details somewhere?

Hi all,
So I was asked today if I would be able to smoke a whole hog for a party next year. Haven't done a whole hog yet, but have been looking for a chance to. So here's my reason to.

This summer I will do one or 2 test smokes of a whole hog. In prep, I reviewed this thread and noted that a couple of you stated 12-14 hours of pit time. Prior to this, and with the butts I usually do, you look at 1 1/2 hours per pound. A small 50 pound whole pig would take way more than 12-14 hours based on that. I'm I missing something? Is it smoking at a higher temp? How are you prepping the pig? Is there more details somewhere?

Any help would be great.

I don't think you should think of it as a 50 lb piece of meat. Think of it as a couple of shoulders an a couple of rib racks and a couple of hams. Because the meat is spread out and not one giant piece of meat weighing 50 lbs, it can be done in a lot less time. I wouldn't think a 50 lb hog would even need 24 hours, but I've never done a whole pig.

I don't think you should think of it as a 50 lb piece of meat. Think of it as a couple of shoulders an a couple of rib racks and a couple of hams. Because the meat is spread out and not one giant piece of meat weighing 50 lbs, it can be done in a lot less time. I wouldn't think a 50 lb hog would even need 24 hours, but I've never done a whole pig.

I like to brine and butterfly the whole thing. After years of using an offset smoker for whole hog, I actually have, in the last 3 years, gone to the caja china box style cooking and installed a Smoke Daddy. Best pig by far and much shorter roast time.

I just did a smaller hog last weekend and posted a few pictures if you want to look.

The pig was 80lbs and was around 4 feet long. We cooked at 325 degrees for around 3 ½ hours until we got the color we wanted than backed down to 250 for another 4 hours until we got an internal temp of 160. That was an odd cook but it shows you can have an "edible" hog in under 8.

Normally when we cook whole hog they are closer to 180 – 200lbs and we smoke for about 16 hours at 225-250. The hog would be injected multiple times throughout the cook and we are looking for an internal temp around 185 – 195.

A word of caution. Whole hog can be very fatty and has the possibility to clog the grease trap in your smoker resulting in a possible fire hazard. A few years back we were cooking one on a rotisserie over open flame with a center plate diverting the grease away from the fire to reduce flareups. 3 hours into the cook the trap got plugged and all the grease in the diverting plate caught fire and subsequently caught the pig on fire. The pig continued to spin in the rack fully engulfed in flames until we could get a garden hose to put everything out. We fired it back up and continued to cook. It was one of the best hogs we have done but I don’t plan on charbroiling a whole hog ever again.